Methods and systems for changing a communication quality of a communication session based on a meaning of speech data

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are described for changing a communication quality of a communication session based on a meaning of speech data. Speech data exchanged between clients participating in a communication session is parsed. A meaning of the parsed speech data is determined for identifying a service quality indicator for the communication session. An action is performed to change a communication quality of the communication session based on the identified service quality indicator.

BACKGROUND

A communication session, such as a phone conversation between two users,is largely dependent on a communication quality of the session. Callscan be disconnected, dropped, etc., if the communication quality is toolow and network resources may be used unnecessarily if the communicationquality used is higher than needed. Improving communication sessions bychanging a communication quality traditionally includes transmissionpower adjustments, changing bandwidth allocations, handoffs, changingerror correction schemes, and other such network-related and/orcommunication-device-related changes. The communication sessions caninvolve communication devices, such as traditional phones, mobilephones, or other communication-enabled devices.

Traditionally, the determination as to whether there is a need to changea quality of communication during a communication session is based onmeasurable network characteristics, such as traffic distribution,bandwidth, and signal quality, and on the capabilities of thecommunication device. Such techniques do not always provide optimalindicators for determining when there is a need to change communicationquality. This is a consequence of ignoring indicators received from theusers communicating via the communication session.

More particularly, communication sessions between users can becharacterized as a “mouth-to-ear” communication chain with a pair ofcommunication devices and a network interposed between the users in thecommunication chain. Determinations as to whether there is a need tochange a quality of communication during a communication session,however, have largely ignored indicators that are not measured orderived from between the pair of communication devices. Speech-relatedfactors such as the meaning of spoken phrases, repetition, timing,intonation in speech, and other factors are conventionally not used indeterminations as to whether there is a need to change a quality ofcommunication during a communication session. As a result, conventionalquality change determinations are inherently flawed because they focuson only part of the communication chain while ignoring indicationsprovided by the most important part, the user(s), which may be readilyavailable in the form of speech-related input.

Accordingly, there exists a need for methods, systems, and computerprogram products for changing a communication quality of a communicationsession based on a meaning of speech data.

SUMMARY

In an aspect of the subject matter disclosed herein, changing acommunication quality of a communication session based on a meaning ofspeech data includes parsing speech data exchanged between clientsparticipating in a communication session, determining a meaning of theparsed speech data for identifying a service quality indicator for thecommunication session, and performing an action to change acommunication quality of the communication session based on theidentified service quality indicator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art upon reading this description in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals havebeen used to designate like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system for changinga communication quality of a communication session based on a meaning ofspeech data according to one embodiment of the subject matter described;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for changing acommunication quality of a communication session based on a meaning ofspeech data according to an aspect of the subject matter described;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary parser component;

FIG. 4 illustrates a decision tree for identifying a service qualityindicator; and

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a system for changing acommunication quality of a communication session based on a meaning ofspeech data according to another embodiment of the subject matterdescribed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system for changinga communication quality of a communication session based on a meaning ofspeech data according to one embodiment of the subject matter described.FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for changing acommunication quality of a communication session based on a meaning ofspeech data according to an aspect of the subject matter described. Themethod of FIG. 2 may be carried out by, for example, the exemplarysystem illustrated in FIG. 1.

Illustrated in FIG. 1 are client devices 100 and 102 that are able toestablish a communication session via a network 103. As used herein, acommunication session is a session carried out by at least two partieswhere the parties conduct a speech dialogue. An example of acommunication session is a phone call between two users. Communicationsessions may be carried out between humans via communication devices orbetween computers using synthetic speech. It is also possible to have acommunication session between a human and a machine, such as in user toautomated phone attendant systems communication sessions. In FIG. 1, acommunication session is carried out between client 100 and client 102on behalf of user 100-A and user 102-A, respectively. Client 100 andclient 102 receive speech data corresponding to speech received fromuser 100-A and user 102-A, respectively. Clients 100 and 102 may be anycombination of hardware and software configured for enabling acommunication session, such as a mobile phone, a voice over Internetprotocol (VoIP) phone, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) phone,a computer system, and the like.

Referring to FIG. 2, in block 204 speech data exchanged between clientsparticipating in a communication session is parsed. Accordingly, asystem for changing a communication quality of a communication sessionbased on a meaning of speech data includes means for parsing speech dataexchanged between clients participating in a communication session. Forexample, in FIG. 1, client 100 includes a parser component 104 forparsing speech data exchanged between clients participating in acommunication session.

Referring also to FIG. 3, parser component 104 can include a waveformanalyzer component 300 configured for converting a waveform representingthe speech data into a spectrogram for analysis. For example, analysiscan be performed on the raw speech data at the acoustic level with theoutput being a spectrogram on which statistical analysis may beperformed.

Parser component 104 can also include an intonation analyzer component302 configured for analyzing the spectrogram to determine an intonationvalue of the speech data. A large portion of the meaning of an utteranceis encoded in the intonation of the utterance. Typically, intonation iscaptured by the acoustic features of duration and the intensity of theutterance. The intonation analyzer component 302 can receive the outputfrom the waveform analyzer component 300 and determine an intonationvalue for speech data. The intonation value may be classified as rising,falling, or neutral. The intensity of the intonation may be classifiedas low, medium, or high. The duration of the intonation may beclassified as short or long.

Parser component 104 can also include a speech recognizer component 304configured for performing speech recognition on the speech data byrecognizing the speech data received from user 100-A. Speech recognitionis well known in the art. Several commercial products are available thatcan perform speech recognition. One example of a speech recognitionengine is Dragon Naturally Speaking® available from Nuance®. Adaptationsof such speech recognition systems may be used that allow limitedvocabulary speech recognition on handheld devices such as cell phonesand VoIP phones.

Parser component 104 can also include a statistical analyzer component306 configured for performing statistical analysis on the speech data.Statistical analyzer component 306 can be configured to perform noiselevel analysis, a transmission delay determination, and/or aconversational analysis, and can produce a variety of results based onthe analysis that it performs. For example, statistical analyzercomponent 306 may conduct a conversational analysis and identifyconversational events in the communication session, such as double talk,mutual silence, an interruption, and the like.

In one aspect, statistical analyzer component 306 can determine there isdouble talk, i.e., where both parties are talking at the same time,based on, for example, detecting a temporal interval when speech data ispresent from both users. The double talk determination may take intoaccount the fact that the tail end of one user's speech may overlap withthe beginning of another user's speech. The detection of double talk,alone can be used to determine a communication quality. Detected doubletalk can also be analyzed with intonation patterns and/or recognizedspeech to determine a communication quality.

In another aspect, statistical analyzer component 306 can determinethere is mutual silence, i.e., where both users produce no speech data,based on, for example, detecting a temporal interval when neither of theusers is talking. The presence and length of mutual silence can be usedto determine communication quality because natural speech overcommunication devices should not contain prolonged periods of mutualsilence. The detection of mutual silence alone can be used to determinea communication quality. Detected mutual silence can also be analyzedwith intonation patterns and/or recognized speech from other temporalintervals to determine a communication quality.

In another aspect, statistical analyzer component 306 can determinethere is an interruption (also referred to as a talk spurt), i.e., whereone user talks over another user's conversation, based on, for example,detecting a temporal overlap in speech. This can be distinguished fromdouble talk because the interrupter's speech begins during the speech ofthe other speaker and ends while the other user is still speaking. Thedetection of an interruption alone can be used to determine acommunication quality. A detected interruption can also be analyzed withintonation patterns and/or recognized speech from other temporalintervals to determine a communication quality. For example, if a userinterrupts another user's speech with the words “I can't hear you” in arising intonation then the communication quality can be determined to bedegraded.

Network 103 may vary depending upon the communication infrastructure. Ina VoIP infrastructure, network 103 includes call managers and the IPinfrastructure, while in a mobile environment the network includes thecellular infrastructure. The internal components of network 103 providethe means for transporting data for the communication session fromclient 100 to client 102.

In one embodiment, not all speech data is parsed. Instead, speech datais parsed at key points during the communication session. For example,speech data can be parsed at the beginning of a communication sessionswhen a user's speech tends to provide the maximal clues that can helpdetermine the communication quality. A user 100-A is most likely toenunciate words that indicate the quality of a communication session atthe beginning of the communication session. Speech data can be parsedperiodically, for example every two minutes for ten seconds. Speech datacan be parsed following routing events such as a handoff. Such eventstend to introduce factors that may affect communication quality for acommunication session.

According to another embodiment, parsing may be performed on all thespeech data that has occurred to the present time during a communicationsession. This requires greater processing power but the results of theparsing are likely to be more reflective of the overall communicationquality of the communication session.

In an exemplary embodiment, the parsing of the speech data is done bythe parser component 104. The speech data is first input to the waveformanalyzer component 300, where it is converted to a machine-readableformat. The output from the waveform analyzer is then provided to thestatistical analyzer component 306 and the intonation analyzer component302. Based on the results of the waveform analysis and the statisticalanalysis, further action may be taken. Speech recognition may then beperformed at the speech recognizer component 304 based on the results.In example, a poor score on a statistical quality of speech measurementcan trigger speech recognition. For example, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)is an objective statistical measure of speech quality where thedifference in speech quality of a speech sample is compared with anoriginal sample. Upon detection of a poor score for SNR, the system mayinitiate speech recognizer component 304. Also, conversational behaviorcharacteristics that are measured by waveform analyzer component 300 caninitiate speech recognition, such as: double-talk, where both partiesstart talking at the same time; interruption, where one party interruptsthe other party; talk after silence, where one of the parties startstalking after mutual silence or at the end of another party's talkspurt; rising intonation during a conversation; and a high intensity ofspeech data.

The final result of the parsing of speech data in step 204 can be a setof output terms representing, for example, the result of the statisticalanalysis, the intonation analysis, and the speech recognition. Anexample data output of the parser component 104 may be:

-   -   Measurement key point: after handoff    -   Intonation: rising, high intensity, long duration    -   Statistical analysis: Interruption    -   Recognized speech: “Can you hear me?”

Returning to FIG. 1, client 100 also includes a telephony interfacecomponent 106, a service quality analyzer component 108, data storagecomponent 110, and a quality controller component 112. The data storagecomponent 110 can store patterns that correspond to service qualityindicators. The telephony interface component 106 interfaces to thenetwork 103 to establish and maintain communication during thecommunication session. For example, in a VoIP network, telephonyinterface 106 may interact with a call manager that does the routing ofthe speech data. In a cellular environment, telephony interface 106 maycommunicate with a base station. The quality controller component 112assists the telephony interface component 106 with respect to thequality of the communication. In one embodiment, the telephony interfacecomponent 106 is embodied in the quality controller component 112. Thesecomponents are discussed further below.

Returning to FIG. 2, in block 206 a meaning of the parsed speech data isdetermined for identifying a service quality indicator for thecommunication session. Accordingly, a system for changing acommunication quality of a communication session based on a meaning ofspeech data includes means for determining a meaning of the parsedspeech data for identifying a service quality indicator for thecommunication session. For example, the service quality analyzercomponent 108 illustrated in FIG. 1 is configured for determining ameaning of the parsed speech data for identifying a service qualityindicator for the communication session. According to one embodiment,the service quality analyzer component 108 can be configured todetermine a meaning of the parsed speech data for identifying a servicequality indicator for the communication session by identifying a phrasefrom recognized speech. Such phrases can include, for example, “hello”,“huh”, “can't hear you”, “can you hear me?”, “are you there?”, and thelike.

According to another embodiment, the service quality analyzer component108 can be configured to determine a meaning of the parsed speech databy additionally determining a context for the identified phrase based onat least one of a determination of a measurement key point, astatistical analysis performed on the speech data, and a determinedintonation value for the speech data. As will be further describedbelow, the service quality analyzer component 108 can use, for example,a lookup table or a decision tree to identify a service qualityindicator corresponding to the determined meaning of the parsed speechdata.

The service quality indicator is a “mouth-to-ear” quality indicator.Accordingly, the service quality indicator is more subjective andcomprehensive, since it can encapsulate the individual circumstances ofboth the speaker and the listener. The perceived quality may depend uponthe mood, interest, physiology, and environment of both the listener andthe speaker. This mouth-to-ear quality approach provides a goodindicator of the entire communication chain. Speech-related factors suchas the meaning of spoken phrases, repetition, timing, intonation inspeech, and other factors can be used in determinations as to whetherthere is a need to change a quality of communication during acommunication session. Other factors such as a user's hearing,background noise, the importance of a conversation, the criticality ofmaking discussion points or instructions crystal clear, a user'sdistraction level, whether a user is chewing food, and the like, canalso be taken into account or are indirectly represented by the otherfactors.

The service quality indicator can be represented using a standardmeasure of quality. For example, the scales recommended by theInternational Telecommunications Union (ITU) can be used to representthe service quality. The ITU recommended quality scales are shown inTables 1 and 2 below:

TABLE 1 Listening Quality Scale Quality of the speech/connection ScoreExcellent 5 Good 4 Fair 3 Poor 2 Bad 1

TABLE 2 Listening Effort Scale Effort required to understand the meaningof sentences Score Complete relaxation possible; 5 no effort requiredAttention necessary, no 4 appreciable effort required Moderate effortrequired 3 Considerable effort required 2 No meaning understood with 1any feasible effort

In an exemplary embodiment, a service quality indicator can berepresented similar to the ITU recommended scales using a score based ona speaker quality scale and/or a speaking effort scale as shown inTables 3 and 4 below.

TABLE 3 The Speaking Quality Scale Quality of the speech/connectionScore Excellent 5 Good 4 Fair 3 Poor 2 Bad 1

TABLE 4 Speaking Effort Scale Effort required to understand the meaningof sentences Score Complete relaxation possible; 5 no effort required inspeaking Attention and accentuation 4 necessary, no appreciable effortrequired Moderate effort required in 3 speaking Considerable effortrequired in 2 speaking No meaning understood with 1 any feasible effortin speaking

Service quality analyzer component 108 receives the parsed speech datafrom parser component 104 and is configured to identify service qualityindicators based on the determined meaning of the parsed speech data. Inone exemplary embodiment, service quality analyzer component 108 uses alookup table represented by Table 5 below. The data store component 110stores values corresponding to determined meanings of parsed speech dataand corresponding service quality indicators. Although Table 5illustrates four columns representing four inputs that can be used toidentify a service quality indication, it will be understood that anyone or more of these inputs may be used without the other inputs fordetermining the service quality indication. The four inputs illustratedrepresent recognized speech, measurement key point, statisticalanalysis, and intonation, each of which, alone or in combination, arerepresentative of the meaning of the parsed speech data. That is,determining any one or more of these inputs will result in determining ameaning of the parsed speech data, which can be used in Table 5 toidentify the service quality indication. Of course the columns in Table5 illustrate some representative meanings for parsed speech data and arenot intended to be limited in this respect.

The meaning of the parsed speech data is therefore determined by theservice quality analyzer component 108 in conjunction with the parsercomponent 104 using any of the components of the parser component 104.For example, a phrase recognized by speech recognizer component 304 canbe used for determining a spoken phrase and correlating it to an entryin the recognized speech column. The statistical analyzer component 306can be used for determining, based on statistical analysis, whether aninterruption, doubletalk, speaking out of turn, etc., has occurred, andsuch speech can be correlated to an entry in the statistical analysiscolumn. The intonation analyzer component 302 can be used to determineand intonation of the speech data, which can be correlated to an entryin the intonation column. Also, the service quality analyzer component108 can determine measurement key points, such as after handoff, thebeginning of a communication session, and during a communicationsession, which can be correlated to an entry in the measurement keypoint column.

Based on a comparison of the determined meaning of the parsed speechdata and data store component in the data store component 110represented by Table 5, the service quality analyzer component 108 candetermine a service quality indication.

TABLE 5 Service Quality Indicators Service Recognized MeasurementStatistical Quality speech key point analysis Intonation Indication “Canyou hear After handoff Interruption Rising, Speaking me?” high effort: 2intensity, Speaking long quality: 2 duration “What did you After handoffInterruption Low Listening say?”/“Could intensity effort: 3 you repeatthat?” “I can't hear Beginning of Double-talk Rising, Listening you”communication high effort: 2 session intensity “Hello, the During NormalWithin Speaking connection is communication conversation normal effort:5 very clear” session parameters

In an alternative embodiment, the service quality analyzer component 108may be configured to use a decision tree algorithm for identifying aservice quality indication. One example of a suitable decision tree thatcontains similar input factors as those in Table 5 is illustrated inFIG. 4.

Returning again to FIG. 2, in block 208 an action is performed to changea communication quality of the communication session based on theidentified service quality indicator. Accordingly, a system for changinga communication quality of a communication session based on a meaning ofspeech data includes means for performing an action to change acommunication quality of the communication session based on theidentified service quality indicator. For example, the qualitycontroller component 112 illustrated in FIG. 1 is configured forperforming an action to change a communication quality of thecommunication session based on the identified service quality indicator.In general, a lower service quality indication (e.g., 1, 2, or 3) canindicate that communication quality of the communication session shouldbe increased and inversely a higher service quality indication (e.g., 5)can indicate that communication quality of the communication session maybe decreased.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the quality controller component112 is associated with a communication device as illustrated in FIG. 1and is configured to change a communication quality of the communicationsession by performing an action. In one aspect, the signal received froma microphone of the communication device is adjusted. For example, thesignal from a microphone can be amplified or attenuated to changecommunication quality.

In another aspect, the signal sent to a speaker of the communicationdevice can be adjusted, e.g., amplified or attenuated, to changecommunication quality.

In another aspect, a transmission power of the communication device canbe adjusted up or down to change communication quality.

In another aspect, a receiver sensitivity of the communication devicecan be adjusted more sensitive or less sensitive to change communicationquality.

In another aspect, the client 100 can provide for adjusting atransmission power of signals sent to the communication device to changecommunication quality. For example, a mobile station communicating witha base station can request the base station to increase or decreasetransmission power.

In another aspect, the client 100 can provide for a handoff from onecommunication base station to another for the communication session tochange communication quality. For example, a mobile station can indicateto a mobile switching center via the current base station that it wishesto be handed-off to a base station with a stronger signal.

In another aspect, the client 100 can provide for adjusting the qualityof service (QoS) for the communication session to change communicationquality. For example, the client 100 can indicate to appropriateentities in the network that make the actual determination of prioritylevel should be assigned to the data, such as packets in a packet datanetwork, exchanged for the communication session.

In another aspect, the client 100 can provide for changing communicationpaths for the communication session to change communication quality. Forexample, network segments, radio bearers, radio channels, etc. can bechanged based on an indication from the client 100.

In another aspect, the client 100 can provide for changing an errorcorrection scheme for the communication session to change communicationquality. Changing an error correction scheme to a more robust scheme canresult in less errors in the communication session. Changing an errorcorrection scheme to a less robust scheme will generally require lessbandwidth for each unit of data, freeing up additional bandwidth for thecommunication session.

In another aspect, the client 100 can provide for performing an erroranalysis for the communication session to change communication quality.For example, the client 100 can determine how many errors are received,e.g., based on dropped packets, and provide input to another entity onthe network for improving the communication quality.

In another aspect, the client 100 can send an indication to secondcommunication device used in the communication session for changing thecommunication quality via the second communication device to changecommunication quality. For example, a message can be sent to the otheruser/participant in a communication session to inform the other userthat the speech quality is poor, thereby enabling the other user to takeaction. For example, the other user can speak louder or move themouthpiece closer to their mouth.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a system for changing acommunication quality of a communication session based on a meaning ofspeech data according to another embodiment of the subject matterdescribed. In FIG. 5, components of the system are associated with aserver 500 used for the communication session. A speech recognitioncomponent 502, a telephony interface component 506, a service qualityanalyzer component 508, a data store component 510, and a qualitycontroller component 512, perform functions for the communicationsession at the server analogous to those described above. In thisembodiment, speech recognition is performed on speech data received viathe network 103 and already converted into a network-transportable form.Accordingly, spoken words and phrases are detected from the speech datareceived via network 103. The service quality analyzer component 508determines a meaning of the speech data for identifying a servicequality indicator as described above and the quality controllercomponent 512 changes a quality of the communication session based onthe service quality indicator as described above. Note that in thisembodiment input may be processed at the server from either or both ofclient 100 and client 102 for changing a quality of the communicationsession.

In an exemplary embodiment, the server 500 is configured to change acommunication quality of the communication session by performing anaction. In one aspect, an indication is sent to a communication deviceused in the communication session to adjust a signal received from amicrophone of the communication device, as described above.

In another aspect, an indication is sent to a communication device usedin the communication session to adjust a signal sent to a speaker of thecommunication device, as described above.

In another aspect, an indication is sent to a communication device usedin the communication session to adjust a transmission power of thecommunication device, as described above.

In another aspect, the server provides for adjusting a transmissionpower of signals sent to the communication device, as described above.

In another aspect, an indication is sent to a communication device usedin the communication session to adjust a receiver sensitivity of thecommunication device, as described above.

In another aspect, the server provides for a handoff from onecommunication base station to another for the communication session, asdescribed above.

In another aspect, the server provides for adjusting the quality ofservice for the communication session, as described above.

In another aspect, the server provides for changing communication pathsfor the communication session, as described above.

In another aspect, the server provides for performing an error analysisfor the communication session, as described above.

In another aspect, the server provides for changing an error correctionscheme for the communication session, as described above.

In an alternative embodiment based on the system illustrated in FIG. 1,the clients 100 and 102 are both configured to identify service qualityindicators and can share the identified service quality indicators witheach other and together negotiate an action to change the communicationquality of the communication session.

In an alternative embodiment, analysis may be performed on thecommunication of the entire communication session. Thus, the speechrecognition engine would be coupled with a natural languageunderstanding (NLU) system such that all speech data exchanged betweenthe participants is understood. The NLU converts the contents of thecommunication into a logical form. The produced logical form may then beanalyzed for a service quality indicator. The advantage of this approachis that the system will have a better chance of accurately identifyingthe correct service quality indicator during the communication session.

In an alternative embodiment, the service quality may be determined bykeeping a cumulative score of the service quality indicator of precedingspeech data segments. Thus, if speaking effort is determined to be highrepeatedly, the effort for the current segment increases. Thus, thescore of the service quality indicator of a segment may be calculatedbased on the current score and an average of the previous few speechdata segments. Accordingly, using this technique, the service qualityindicators may be identified in the user's speech over the duration of acall and not at a particular point in time.

It should be pointed out that the service quality may be reduced as wellas increased based on the service quality indicators. For instance, ifthe determined meaning of the speech data does not indicate anydegradation of the service quality an action may be performed to reducethe service quality.

It should be understood that the various components illustrated in thefigures represent logical components that are configured to perform thefunctionality described herein and may be implemented in software,hardware, or a combination of the two. Moreover, some or all of theselogical components may be combined and some may be omitted altogetherwhile still achieving the functionality described herein.

To facilitate an understanding of exemplary embodiments, many aspectsare described in terms of sequences of actions that can be performed byelements of a computer system. For example, it will be recognized thatin each of the embodiments, the various actions can be performed byspecialized circuits or circuitry (e.g., discrete logic gatesinterconnected to perform a specialized function), by programinstructions being executed by one or more processors, or by acombination of both.

Moreover, the sequences of actions can be embodied in anycomputer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instructionexecution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system,processor containing system, or other system that can fetch theinstructions from a computer-readable medium and execute theinstructions.

As used herein, a “computer-readable medium” can be any means that cancontain, store, communicate, or transport instructions for use by or inconnection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.The computer-readable medium can be, for example but not limited to, anelectronic, magnetic, optical, or semiconductor system, apparatus, ordevice. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of thecomputer-readable medium can include the following: a portable computerdiskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), anerasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), anoptical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM), aportable digital video disc (DVD) and the like.

Thus, the subject matter described herein can be embodied in manydifferent forms, and all such forms are contemplated to be within thescope of what is claimed.

It will be understood that various details of the invention may bechanged without departing from the scope of the claimed subject matter.Furthermore, the foregoing description is for the purpose ofillustration only, and not for the purpose of limitation, as the scopeof protection sought is defined by the claims as set forth hereinaftertogether with any equivalents thereof entitled to.

1. A method for changing a communication quality of a communicationsession based on a meaning of speech data, the method comprising:parsing speech data exchanged between clients participating in acommunication session; determining a meaning of the parsed speech datafor identifying a service quality indicator for the communicationsession; and performing an action to change a communication quality ofthe communication session based on the identified service qualityindicator.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein parsing speech datacomprises: converting a waveform representing the speech data into aspectrogram; and analyzing the spectrogram.
 3. The method of claim 2wherein analyzing the spectrogram includes analyzing the spectrogram todetermine an intonation value of the speech data.
 4. The method of claim1 wherein parsing speech data includes performing speech recognition onthe speech data.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein parsing speech dataincludes performing statistical analysis on the speech data.
 6. Themethod of claim 5 wherein the statistical analysis includes one of anoise level analysis, a transmission delay determination, and aconversational analysis.
 7. The method of claim 6 wherein theconversational analysis includes detecting one of double talk, mutualsilence, and interruption.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein determininga meaning of the parsed speech data for identifying a service qualityindicator for the communication session includes identifying a phrasefrom recognized speech for the communication session.
 9. The method ofclaim 8 wherein determining a meaning of the parsed speech data foridentifying a service quality indicator for the communication sessionincludes determining a context for the identified phrase based on atleast one of a determination of a measurement key point, a statisticalanalysis performed on the speech data, a determined intonation value forthe speech data.
 10. The method of claim 1 wherein performing an actionto change a communication quality of the communication session includesperforming an action by a communication device used in the communicationsession, wherein the action includes one of: adjusting a signal receivedfrom a microphone of the communication device; adjusting a signal sentto a speaker of the communication device; adjusting a transmission powerof the communication device; adjusting a receiver sensitivity of thecommunication device; providing for adjusting a transmission power ofsignals sent to the communication device; providing for a handoff fromone communication base station to another for the communication session;providing for adjusting the quality of service for the communicationsession; providing for changing communication paths for thecommunication session; providing for changing an error correction schemefor the communication session; providing for performing an erroranalysis for the communication session; and sending an indication tosecond communication device used in the communication session forchanging the communication quality via the second communication device.11. The method of claim 1 wherein performing an action to change acommunication quality of the communication session includes performingan action by a server used in the communication session, wherein theaction includes one of: sending an indication to a communication deviceused in the communication session to adjust a signal received from amicrophone of the communication device; sending an indication to acommunication device used in the communication session to adjust asignal sent to a speaker of the communication device; sending anindication to a communication device used in the communication sessionto adjust a transmission power of the communication device; providingfor adjusting a transmission power of signals sent to the communicationdevice; sending an indication to a communication device used in thecommunication session to adjust a receiver sensitivity of thecommunication device; providing for a handoff from one communicationbase station to another for the communication session; providing foradjusting the quality of service for the communication session;providing for changing communication paths for the communicationsession; providing for performing an error analysis for thecommunication session; and providing for changing an error correctionscheme for the communication session.
 12. A system for changing acommunication quality of a communication session based on a meaning ofspeech data, comprising: means for parsing speech data exchanged betweenclients participating in a communication session; means for determininga meaning of the parsed speech data for identifying a service qualityindicator for the communication session; and means for performing anaction to change a communication quality of the communication sessionbased on the identified service quality indicator.
 13. A system forchanging a communication quality of a communication session based on ameaning of speech data, comprising: a parser component for parsingspeech data exchanged between clients participating in a communicationsession; a service quality analyzer component for determining a meaningof the parsed speech data for identifying a service quality indicatorfor the communication session; and a quality controller component forperforming an action to change a communication quality of thecommunication session based on the identified service quality indicator.14. The system of claim 13 wherein the system is associated with acommunication client used for the communication session.
 15. The systemof claim 13 wherein the system is associated with a server used for thecommunication session.
 16. The system of claim 13 wherein the parsercomponent includes a waveform analyzer component configured forconverting a waveform representing the speech data into a spectrogramfor analysis.
 17. The system of claim 16 wherein the parser componentincludes an intonation analyzer component configured for analyzing thespectrogram to determine an intonation value of the speech data.
 18. Thesystem of claim 13 wherein the parser component includes a speechrecognizer component configured for performing speech recognition on thespeech data.
 19. The system of claim 13 wherein the parser componentincludes a statistical analyzer component configured for performingstatistical analysis on the speech data.
 20. The system of claim 19wherein the statistical analysis includes one of a noise level analysis,a transmission delay determination, and a conversational analysis. 21.The system of claim 20 wherein the conversational analysis includesdetecting one of double talk, mutual silence, and interruption.
 22. Thesystem of claim 13 wherein the service quality analyzer component isconfigured to determine a meaning of the parsed speech data byidentifying a phrase from recognized speech for the communicationsession.
 23. The system of claim 21 wherein the service quality analyzercomponent is configured to determine a meaning of the parsed speech databy determining a context for the identified phrase based on at least oneof a determination of a measurement key point, a statistical analysisperformed on the speech data, a determined intonation value for thespeech data.
 24. The system of claim 21 wherein the service qualityanalyzer component is configured to use one of a lookup table and adecision tree to identify a service quality indicator in the parsedspeech data.
 25. The system of claim 14 wherein the quality controllercomponent is associated with a communication device used in thecommunication session and is configured to change a communicationquality of the communication session by one of: adjusting a signalreceived from a microphone of the communication device; adjusting asignal sent to a speaker of the communication device; adjusting atransmission power of the communication device; adjusting a receiversensitivity of the communication device; providing for adjusting atransmission power of signals sent to the communication device;providing for a handoff from one communication base station to anotherfor the communication session; providing for adjusting the quality ofservice for the communication session; providing for changingcommunication paths for the communication session; providing forchanging an error correction scheme for the communication session;providing for performing an error analysis for the communicationsession; and sending an indication to second communication device usedin the communication session for changing the communication quality viathe second communication device.
 26. The system of claim 15 wherein thequality controller component is associated with a server used in thecommunication session and is configured to change a communicationquality of the communication session by one of: sending an indication toa communication device used in the communication session to adjust asignal received from a microphone of the communication device; sendingan indication to a communication device used in the communicationsession to adjust a signal sent to a speaker of the communicationdevice; sending an indication to a communication device used in thecommunication session to adjust a transmission power of thecommunication device; providing for adjusting a transmission power ofsignals sent to the communication device; sending an indication to acommunication device used in the communication session to adjust areceiver sensitivity of the communication device; providing for ahandoff from one communication base station to another for thecommunication session; providing for adjusting the quality of servicefor the communication session; providing for changing communicationpaths for the communication session; providing for performing an erroranalysis for the communication session; and providing for changing anerror correction scheme for the communication session.
 27. Anon-transitory computer readable medium including a computer program,executable by a machine, for changing a communication quality of acommunication session based on a meaning of speech data, the computerprogram comprising executable instructions for: parsing speech dataexchanged between clients participating in a communication session;determining a meaning of the parsed speech data for identifying aservice quality indicator for the communication session; and performingan action to change a communication quality of the communication sessionbased on the identified service quality indicator.